Copycat Winger's Sticky Chicken Fingers

Crispy chicken fingers baked in the oven with a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce dipped in Ranch dressing.

Let me start by saying that I've never been to a Winger's Roadhouse Grill.  They are apparently out west and I live on the east coast. 

However, I've seen several recipes for Copycat Winger's Sticky Fingers, which is a chicken fingers recipe, and they look amazing.  The sauce looks thick and sticky and it sounded like the sauce was sweet and spicy.

One thing I liked about the recipe is that there aren't a lot of ingredients.  The chicken has about five ingredients then the sauce has about five ingredients and the whole recipe took me under 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast
• flour
• egg
• breadcrumbs
• salt
• black pepper
• hot sauce
• brown sugar
• BBQ sauce
• garlic cloves
• butter

To Make the Chicken:  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Pour the flour into a zip top baggie.  Add the chicken and shake until covered.  Shake off excess flour then dip the chicken fingers into the egg then roll in the breadcrumbs. Place in the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

To Make the Sauce:  Put the brown sugar, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, and garlic cloves in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to a simmer and add the butter, mixing until combined.

Finishing up the Chicken Fingers:  Pour the sauce over top of the chicken fingers and put back in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce is thick and sticky over top of the chicken.

This recipe was fairly simple and easy to make.  It's perfect for a weeknight meal because there aren't a lot of ingredients and most of the time it takes is hands off.

I put the chicken together first and got it into the oven.  Once it was in the oven I got started on the sauce.

A note about the sauce.   Use your discretion on how much hot sauce and brown sugar you use.  The first time I made this recipe I used the recommended amount of hot sauce and I could barely eat the chicken because it was way too spicy.  I've since adjusted the ingredients to reflect how we enjoy the sauce. 

Can I use already breaded chicken?

You sure can.  If you want to buy chicken tenders that have already been breaded at the market that would work.  You can also buy frozen chicken tenders but I don't think those would be as good.  They would work in a pinch though.

What type of BBQ Sauce should I use?

I'd recommend using a BBQ sauce that's a little bit on the sweet side.  However, the best thing to do is to use a BBQ sauce that you typically like and enjoy.  I used Sweet Baby Ray's original BBQ sauce because it's sweet but has some spices in it so it works well in this sauce.

Do I have to bake the chicken tenders?

If you want to you can deep fry or pan fry the chicken tenders.  However, I still recommend that you put the in the oven along with the sauce to finish them up.  You could simply simmer the sauce longer to make it thicker and then serve it on the side if you choose to fry your chicken.

Do I have to use the hot sauce?

Yes, if you are looking for a copycat version from Winger's then you need the hot sauce.   If you don't want them spicy then this isn't the recipe for you.  You can reduce the amount of hot sauce to as little as 2 Tablespoons but I wouldn't use any less than that.

Another thing to remember is to put the sauce on top of the chicken and cook for another 5-10 minutes.  This really thickens up the sauce and gives it the stickiness that these chicken fingers are famous for.

When I finally pulled the chicken out of the oven I could smell the sweet and spicy sauce.   The chicken looked incredible and I could tell the sauce was going to be sticky.

I served the chicken  with ranch dipping sauce to help cool off the spiciness but you could use blue cheese instead.  The chicken fingers were spicy with a sweet undertone.  The ranch dressing helped to tame the spiciness.  These would be perfect for tailgating or sporting events!

More Chicken Recipes:

• Air Fryer Almond Chicken
• Barbecue Chicken with Bacon Onion Jam
• Easy Bourbon Chicken
• Hawaiian Chicken
• Everything But the Bagel Avocado Chicken

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Copycat Winger's Sticky Chicken Fingers

Yield: serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Crispy chicken fingers baked in the oven with a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce dipped in Ranch dressing.

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Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 1 ¼ lb. chicken breasts
• ½ c. flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ c. breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

For the Sauce:

• ⅓ c. brown sugar
• ¼ c. hot sauce (like Frank's Red Hot)
• ½ c. BBQ sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Slice the chicken breasts into 1 inch wide strips. Add the
   chicken and flour to a large zip top bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat the chicken in flour.
3. Place the breadcrumbs, salt, and black pepper in a dish. Place the eggs in another dish.
4. Remove the excess flour from the chicken. Dip
   the chicken in the egg mixture and coat with the breadcrumb mixture.
5. Place the chicken in the pan. Spray the chicken with cooking spray.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan. Heat on medium high heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 5
   minutes.
8. Pour the sauce over top of the chicken fingers and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and serve with ranch dipping sauce.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Creme de la Crumb

Copycat Recipes

• Cheesecake Factory Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes from Jen Around the World
• Copycat Crumble Sugar Cookie Recipe from Kathryn's Kitchen Blog
• Copycat Panda Express Chow Mein from Palatable Pastime
• Copycat Wingers Sticky Chicken Fingers from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Homemade Blizzards from Art of Natural Living
• Lighter Chicken Bellagio (The Cheesecake Factory Copycat) from The Spiffy Cookie
• Longhorn Steakhouse Creamy Parmesan Chicken from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Olive Garden Salad Dressing from Family Around the Table
• Passion Tea Lemonade from That Recipe
• Strawberry Poppyseed Salad from Magical Ingredients
• Truffle Smashburger from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

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